1. Field
The present disclosure relates to apparatus, methods, and systems for monitoring status of a patient.
2. Description of Related Art
Treatment of victims of traumatic injuries requires swift action. There are often many casualties, and each patient often requires the administration of large amounts of fluids, blood products and medications in the first few minutes to survive. On the battlefield and in traumatic crashes, access to traditional sites on patients for the insertion of intravenous lines may be difficult or even impossible due to damage to peripheral sites (e.g., arms, legs). The use of large veins such as the jugular is difficult and introduces a high rate of complicating issues in addition to the difficulty of safe mechanical fixation of the components involved. Other difficulties can occur.
Monitoring of patients in large-scale emergency medical situations such as mass transit accidents, terror attacks, or battlefields is often difficult due to the limitations on the numbers of medical personnel and equipment. There are often far too few devices to monitor all of the victims and even fewer personnel making it impossible for each patient to be continuously supervised. Speed in assessing and preparing patients can be important for introducing fluids and medication to the patient as well as setting up diagnostic and monitoring equipment. Complicated attachment of standard equipment and devices designed for hospital use such as, e.g., fluid lines and vital signs sensors may take too much time in these situations.